Now that reliable, robust, commercial proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are available, the problem has shifted to fuel storage. PEMFCs function most efficiently (>50%) when supplied with pure hydrogen. Unfortunately, storing large quantities of hydrogen in a compact, lightweight form has proven to be very difficult. Most of the hydrogen storage methods that have been developed for fuel cell powered vehicles, including liquid hydrogen, compressed hydrogen, methanol, gasoline reformers, etc., are not appropriate for man-portable systems. However, chemical hydrides, such as LiH, LiAlH4, LiBH4, NaH, and NaBH4, produce large quantities of pure hydrogen, when reacted with water. The problem with chemical hydrides has been the difficulty in controlling these exothermic reactions to prevent runaway. At Trulite, we have developed a simple, fail-safe method for controlling the reaction of chemical hydrides with water, resulting in a pure hydrogen source with the highest, overall energy density of any other source. We propose to design (Phase I) and demonstrate (Phase II) a 220 watt, man-portable PEMFC system that will provide 12 hrs of continuous DC electrical power and will weigh less than 5 pounds. Our proposed chemical hydride supplied PEMFC power source will be ideal for all types of portable electronic equipment, including biological, chemical and nuclear threat detection equipment. In addition, the compact, lightweight design can be made small enough to power a laptop computer or cell phone for 10-20 times longer than a typical Li-ion battery before recharging.
